Daily GK Update: 26th November, 2015 Important Current Affairs

1. Sunil Kanoria appointed as President of ASSOCHAM

i. Sunil Kanoria was on 25 November 2015 appointed as the President of The Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). Kanoria has succeeded Rana Kapoor, Yes Bank Managing Director and CEO.

ii. Kanoria has an impeccable record as an expert in the field of finance. He has been instrumental in bringing over 34000 crore rupees of consolidated assets under SREI which became one of the first NBFCs to get listed on the London Stock Exchange.

iii. Kanoria is the Vice Chairman of reputed non-banking finance company SREI Infrastructure Finance Limited. He is also the joint Managing Director of SREI BNP Paribas, a joint-venture between SREI Infrastructure Finance Limited and BNP Paribas Leasing Group, France.

iv. He is currently a council member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) as a nominee of the Union Government. He conceptualized the brand Quippo, the country's largest infrastructure equipment rental company.

v. He has been associated with several industry associations - Construction Industry Development Council (CIDC), Hire Purchase and Lease Association, Kolkata (HPLA), Merchants' Chamber of Commerce, Kolkata (MCC) and Federation of Indian Hire Purchase Association (FIHPA).

2. National Milk Day observed in India

i. The National Milk Day (NMD) was on 26 November 2015 observed across India to mark 94th birth anniversary of the Father of the White Revolution Dr Verghese Kurien. The idea of observing National Milk Day was first mooted by Indian Dairy Association (IDA) in 2014 on the lines of World Milk Day that is observed on 1 June every year under the aegis of UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

ii. The first NMD was observed on 26 November 2014 by all Indian diary sector majors including National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), IDA along with around 22 state level milk federations.

iii. Dr. Verghese Kurien is also known as the Milkman of India and the architect of Operation Flood, the idea that transformed India from a milk-deficit country into the world’s largest milk producer. He founded around 30 institutions of excellence (like AMUL, GCMMF, IRMA, NDDB) which are owned, managed by farmers and run by professionals.

iv. Kurien was pioneer in establishment and success of the Amul brand of dairy products. Under his chairmanship, Amul achieved key invention of milk powder processed from buffalo milk. In 1963, he received Ramon Magsaysay Award and in 1989, he was named for the World Food Prize by World Food Prize, USA.

3. International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women observed

i. International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women was observed across the world on 25 November 2015. The day is observed to raise awareness about violence against women and discuss solutions that would work for women community.

ii. The observance of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women will be marked by organisation of an event called Orange the world: End violence against women and girls across the world.

iii. The event is being organized under the UN Secretary General’s Campaign called UNiTE to End Violence against Women. As part of the event, 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence Campaign will be held from 25 November 2015 to 10 December 2015 (Human Rights Day).

iv. The 16 Days of Activism Campaign will see coming together of governments, UN agencies, civil society organizations and individuals from all countries of the world to step up efforts to end violence against women and girls.

v. The Day was observed in India by lighting the iconic India Gate in orange colour, as a part of global Orange the World event. The event was organised by UN Women Indian along with UNFPA India, UNDP and UN in India as part of the United Nations global campaign that is set to continue till 10 December, designated as the UNs Human Rights Day.

4. 26th November: Constitution Day

i. The ‘Constitution Day’ of India is being observed on 26th November to spread awareness of Indian Constitution and its architecture Dr. B R Ambedkar.

ii. On the day in 1949, constitution of India was adopted which came into force on January 26, 1950 marking the beginning of a new era in the history of free India.

iii. 2015 Constitution Day is the first edition of this day and part of year-long nationwide celebrations of 125th birth Anniversary of Dr. B R Ambedkar, Chairman of the Drafting Committee of Constituent Assembly. Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MSJE) is the nodal Ministry for celebration of Constitution Day.

iv. It has organised number of activities on the occasion of the first Constitution Day in order to spread awareness the supreme law of the country and living document which makes the government system work effectively.

5. India successfully test-fires nuclear-capable Prithvi-II missile

i. India today successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile, which has a strike range of 350 km, as part of a user trial by the army. The missile test was carried out from a mobile launcher from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near here at 1210 hrs.

ii. The surface-to-surface Prithvi-II missile is capable of carrying 500 kg to 1,000 kg of warheads and is thrusted by liquid propulsion twin engines. It uses advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory to hit its target.

iii. The downrange teams on board a ship deployed near the designated impact point in the Bay of Bengal monitored the terminal events and splashdown, they said.

iv. Inducted into India’s armed forces in 2003, Prithvi-II, the first missile to be developed by DRDO under India’s prestigious IGMDP (Integrated Guided Missile Development Program), is now a proven technology.

v. Such training launches clearly indicate India’s operational readiness to meet any eventuality and also establishes the reliability of this deterrent component of the country’s strategic arsenal, they said. The last user trial of Prithvi-II was successfully conducted on February 19, 2015, from the same test range in Odisha.

6. Nitish announces liquor ban in Bihar from April 1

i. Bihar will go dry from April 1, 2016, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The Chief Minister made the announcement — a part of his election pledge — at an official function to mark Prohibition Day here. He said the poorest of the poor had been consuming liquor, badly hitting their families and their children’s education.

ii. Increasing liquor consumption was also a major cause for domestic violence, particularly against women, and had contributed to a rise in crimes. “Women are suffering more than anyone else due to increasing liquor consumption,” he said.

iii. An official at the Chief Minister’s office said Mr. Kumar took the decision after a high-level meeting with officials here. In July, Mr. Kumar had declared that prohibition would be imposed if he retained power in the assembly elections. Bihar Excise and Prohibition Minister Abdul Jalil Mastan had earlier said that the state government would soon take steps to impose a liquor ban.

iv. The decision is expected to derail the government’s financial health. The excise department went into an overdrive in 2007 following a new policy and started issuing licences for marketing liquor across the state. The revenue collection of excise department registered a more than 10-fold jump, from Rs.319 crore in 2005-06 to Rs.3,650 crore in 2014-15.

7. ISB to host Angel Summit in Hyderabad on Nov 28

i. Angel Hub is holding the first edition of The Angel Summit at the Indian School of Business (ISB) campus in Hyderabad on November 28. The day-long meet would have several women entrepreneurs and executives speaking on their experiences in building enterprises, raising funds and managing the entities.

ii. “Women from various fields such as business, art, technology and cinema will discuss issues to foster awareness, inspiration and turn ideas that matter into action,” Sita Pallacholla, founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Angel Hub, has said.

iii. About 20 start-ups, mostly founded or managed by women entrepreneurs, would pitch in their ideas to angel and venture capital funds. A panel discussion on ‘Be The Captain of Your Own Ship – Rising in Leadership Roles and Staying On Top’ would focus on the challenges involved in building businesses and growing up the executive ladder.

8. Ratan Tata invests in Singapore’s data start-up

i. Tata Sons chairman emeritus Ratan Tata has invested an unspecified amount in Crayon Data, a Singapore-based startup. “Given Tata’s experience and knowledge of our key focus verticals, we are excited by his validation of our vision. We hope to tap into his experience as we scale globally and fulfill our ambitions of mapping the world’s choices,” Crayon co-founder Srikant Sastri said in a statement from Singapore on Tuesday.

ii. As an alumni of the state-run Indian Institute of Management-Kolkata (IIM-K), Sastri and Suresh Shankar co-founded Crayon in 2012 and subsequently raised 10 million Singapore dollars (Rs. 47 crore) from institutional investors Jungle Ventures and Spring Seeds in first round (series A) funding.

iii. Crayon’s flagship product ‘Maya’ is a personalisation engine that empowers enterprises to deliver ultra-personalised choices to their consumers.

iv. Maya also facilitates choice delivery for banking, hotel and digital media verticals. The start-up plans to use the funds for product enhancements (new versions) of Maya and its geographical expansion in key markets like the APAC, Britain, Europe and the US.